This is where most people blow it. The first 3 weeks after taking HCG are crucial. Failing to follow certain guidelines will add weight back again. Here is what you must do.
HCG Diet Information After The HCG Phase
The After HCG Diet To Do list begins after the HCG phase concludes. The last day of the HCG phase is the third day in a row of not taking the hormone, also called the hormone washout period.
On the first day after the three day washout period, you are allowed to increase your calories back to your normal daily caloric requirement, with certain crucial restrictions.
Post HCG Food Period
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The first three weeks after taking HCG, sometimes misleadingly called the maintenance phase, is the period when the fat metabolism that you established during the protocol becomes stabilized. The two most important actions that you must take during this phase are: 1) weigh yourself every day, just as you did while taking the hormone; and, 2) eat or drink anything you want except food and beverages that contain sugar or starch.
One exception is a single glass of wine each day, with a meal, during this phase.
The above guidelines are not new information. They were prescribed by Dr. Simeons in the 1950s. Here is why they are important.
The Importance Of Keeping Track
Keeping track of your weight every day ensures that you are not gaining it back. Dr. Simeons insisted that the stabilizing action of this phase would be most effective when his patients kept to less than a 2 pound gain from one day to the next. He said the same thing for a 2 pound loss. The point is to stay within a narrow weight range, starting with your weight on the final day of the hormone phase and staying at that target for the next three weeks.
The Importance of Carb Restriction
This is a simple guideline. Avoid starch and sugar, both of which are carbs. The most dangerous carbs during this phase are those that fill up your liver storage capacity to quickly (i.e., starch and sugar). If your liver takes in too much carb during this phase, it will convert the excess into triglycerides and shove them back out into the bloodstream, on the way to storage in fat cells. Elevating triglycerides and increasing fat storage are not the results that you want.
Foods and beverages to avoid during this phase include potatoes, all breads, pastas, and other starchy products, rice and other grains, grapes, bananas, all fruit juices, soft drinks, and beer. This list could be much longer. Just be sensible.
By the way, the explanation is oversimplified. As Dr. Simeons mentioned in 1954, the true danger during this period is the combination of fats and carbs in the diet. Indeed, if you eat no carbs at all, you can consume more fat without increasing weight again. Remember, you have just spent a month or more establishing a healthy fat metabolism. This is no time to revert back to old habits and mess it up.
If you insist on eating carbs with a lot of fat, then watching your weight daily is the only way for you to easily detect what change this may be causing.
The Proverbial Steak Day
The steak day strategy entails skipping breakfast and lunch, then for dinner eating only a steak and one apple. The necessity for a steak day is any day that your weight reaches 2 or more pounds above the previous day.
The key is to have a steak day that very same day. Putting it off will undermine your recovery. However, a steak day can and often does put you right back on track by the following day.
The reason that I emphasize this is that a steak day is most effective only when it is implemented on that first day of too much weight increase.
A Modern Scientific Viewpoint
Dr. Simeons created his diet based on 1950s knowledge about human physiology. The discovery of the master fat hormone, leptin, in 1994 substantiates his thinking. Leptin and HCG both work by sending signals through brain receptors in the hypothalamus. Lab research with experimental animals is just now starting to show how these two hormones interact to regulate fat metabolism.
The carb connection in this scenario involves insulin, which also has a close interaction with leptin. If either one of these hormones gets out of balance, the other one will, too. Consuming excess carbs will make you fat more quickly than will any other kind of food. These hormones work together to make it so. This is why eating carbs during the three week post HCG phase ruins your newly acquired fat metabolism.
I hope this helps you understand how important it is to do the right thing during this period.
All the best in natural health,
Dr. D
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by Gaby, on May 11 2010 @ 11:04 pm
Dear Dr. Clark
I did follow the 3 week period and maintained my weight well. Now I am about 6 weeks past my 2nd round and all of a sudden from one day to another I had a 3 pound weight gain. I did the steak day but only lost 1 pound. So what do I do next? another steak day? How can it happen, that I gain 3 pounds in a day. I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary nor is it that time of the month. I am very confused perhaps you can shed some light on it.
Best regards
Gaby (Dieting in Germany)
by Danelle, on May 16 2010 @ 9:36 am
I’m in week 2 of phase 3 and lost weight the first couple of days. Getting used to eating (and remembering to eat–never thought I’d say that), was a task. I got sick the first few days as my stomach wasn’t ready to take on that much food/protein. It passed after several days, and I’ve been pretty stable +/- a pound. I lost 29 lbs on phase2 and haven’t been super careful about watching the exact calories I’m eating, just making sure that I’m eating the correct foods for this phase–and eating a lot of them. (igoogle calorie counter is really easy and accessible to use) I found that to boost calories in a healthy way I eat a raw avocado daily (good fats) and throw in mixed nuts for high calories. I get backed up with too much cheese, but I make sure to do that in moderation too. Keep drinking the oolong tea to help with water retention and hormone stabilization. I love this program and haven’t had this success in any attempt over the last 10 years. I can’t wait to do phase 2 again!
by Dr. Dennis Clark, on May 25 2010 @ 10:22 am
Great input that will benefit others. Keep up the good work!
All the best,
Dennis
by Jan, on July 9 2010 @ 4:57 am
I started the hcg and on day 4 became Ill with a cold. I stopped the diet. Now it is 4 days later, aim feeling better can I restart? Do I need to overeat for the 2 days again? Or do need to wait and resart after 6 weeks?
by Dr. Dennis Clark, on July 9 2010 @ 5:03 pm
Hi, Michael:
You can start immediately without another pair of gorging days. If you wait a week or more, then you have to start over (and expect to reach resistance sooner). Keep up the good work!
All the best,
Dennis
by Marie, on July 31 2010 @ 3:51 am
On Round 1 I am down 19.5 pounds using homeopathic hcg. Have just started my second week of phase 3 and it seems too be going well. My question is what about phase 4, how should we be eating (I will be on holiday during phase 4)
I plan to start R2 in September/October.
Any help would be greatly received.
many thanks,
Marie
by Dr. Dennis Clark, on August 2 2010 @ 9:26 am
Hi, Marie: You simply must eat and drink sensibly. Your body will tell you what that means when you keep track of your weight every day. It certainly includes eliminating junk food and processed carbs.
Cheers, Dennis
by VW, on August 17 2010 @ 9:05 am
I have been on the HCG diet 5 weeks (started July 11th). I have lost 24 lbs; but have been stuck at my current weight for almost a week. Any suggestions?
VW
by Theresa, on August 17 2010 @ 10:29 am
Dr. Clark,
I am beginning round 2 of the hCG Protocol this weekend. As when I started the hCG diet, do I again “load” with healthy fats for 2-days before I proceed with the 500-calories per day? Please advise.
Thanks,
Theresa
by Dr. Dennis Clark, on August 18 2010 @ 8:34 am
Yes, begin at the beginning again.
by Dr. Dennis Clark, on August 18 2010 @ 8:35 am
You should go through the Pounds and Inches book and read about plateaus.
by Tanya, on August 25 2010 @ 4:43 pm
I am on my last two days of injection. But I got my monthly visitor this morning. I don’t plan to take shot for three days of my cycle. But is it going to do any good to take injection for two days after the hcg is out of body.
by Dr. Dennis Clark, on August 26 2010 @ 7:42 am
It is probably fine to do so. The worst case scenario is that you will develop resistance to the hormone and be hungry for a couple of days.
All the best,
Dennis
by marsha, on August 26 2010 @ 4:15 pm
What happens if I don’t eat double the protein after the 26 days are over and just eat sensibly. I’m doing the hcg injections. I was told that for 3 weeks after the 26 day to do double my protein, and after that for 3 weeks to do the atkins. What if I don’t follow with this and just eliminate carbs for 6 weeks
by Kristina, on August 30 2010 @ 12:15 pm
I am curious about the combination of carbs and fat during the 3-week post-VLCD phase (phase 3), and it’s impact. On one of the hcg message boards I frequent, there seems to be an assumption that carbs should not be counted as long as they are “natural” such as in dairy and fruit, and that fats can always be unlimited. To me, that seems like a recipe for disaster. One can rack up a ton of carbs and fat from fruit, whole milk/cream, cheese and yogurt. I have taken a more Atkins-like approach to P3 and limit fats if I eat fruit or yogurt. Weight gain is blamed on “intolerances” but could it be too many carbs are getting stored as fat? Can you comment?
by Dr. Dennis Clark, on August 31 2010 @ 8:34 am
Hi, Kristina:
I think you are right on track. The key to resetting fat metabolism is to not have carbs and fats at the same time during Phase 3. Fats are not the problem. The combination of fats with carbs is. By the way, the “natural” business is overdone. Fruit as a carb source is widely variable. Apples will work just fine. Grapes and bananas will not. Oh, and your question about too many carbs getting stored as fat is right on the money. Indeed, of all food groups, carbs are the only group that gets converted to storage fat. The efficiency of this process depends on how your body uses insulin and leptin, which are the key hormones of fat metabolism.
I hope I answered your questions.
All the best,
Dennis